Baraja muscled out for Valencia

Valencia CF's Spanish international midfielder Rubén Baraja will be sidelined for around two and a half months after tearing a muscle in his right leg on Monday.

Leg painValencia said the 31-year-old felt a sharp pain in the back of his leg during training and that subsequent tests revealed he had ruptured the muscle. The Spanish side will attempt to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit against Austrian team FC Salzburg in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round on Tuesday. They will also be without full-back Asier Del Horno, who is recovering from a similar injury to Baraja's, and centre-back Roberto Ayala who is involved in a contract dispute with the club.

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